Not applicable to this application.
Not applicable to this application.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to railroad rail pullers and more specifically it relates to a rail pulling system for efficiently drawing the ends of two rails together.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is often times necessary within the railroad industry to repair a length of rail that has become damaged. During repairs, sometimes the opposing ends of a first rail and a second rail are a significant distance apart and need to be drawn together for welding. Conventional rail pullers and other techniques are utilized to draw the two rails together for welding. U.S. Pat. No. 5,270,514 to Wechselberger et al. provides an example of the current art.
Conventional rail pullers are typically comprised of bulky structures that are difficult to maneuver and operate. In addition, conventional rail pullers are difficult to transport from one location to another.
While these devices may be suitable for the particular purpose to which they address, they are not as suitable for efficiently drawing the ends of two rails together. Conventional rail puller devices are bulky and difficult to utilize for drawing two rails together for welding.
In these respects, the rail pulling system according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in so doing provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of efficiently drawing the ends of two rails together.
In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known types of rail pullers now present in the prior art, the present invention provides a new rail pulling system construction wherein the same can be utilized for efficiently drawing the ends of two rails together.
The general purpose of the present invention, which will be described subsequently in greater detail, is to provide a new rail pulling system that has many of the advantages of the rail puller devices mentioned heretofore and many novel features that result in a new rail pulling system which is not anticipated, rendered obvious, suggested, or even implied by any of the prior art rail pullers, either alone or in any combination thereof.
To attain this, the present invention generally comprises an elongate frame, a control unit, a first sliding unit and a second sliding unit, a pair of first actuators attached to the first sliding unit, a pair of second actuators attached to the second sliding unit, a plurality of third actuators attached to the frame, a pair of first engaging cams rotatably attached to the first sliding unit, and a pair of second engaging cams rotatably attached to the second sliding unit. The cams are rotated to engage a first rail and a second rail respectively by actuating the first actuators and the second actuators thereby causing an engaging portion of the cams to engage pillow blocks on the third actuators. The third actuators then draw the first sliding unit and the second sliding unit together thereby drawing the rails together.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and that will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.
In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of the description and should not be regarded as limiting.
A primary object of the present invention is to provide a rail pulling system that will overcome the shortcomings of the prior art devices.
A second object is to provide a rail pulling system for efficiently drawing the ends of two rails together.
Another object is to provide a rail pulling system that safely draws two rails together.
An additional object is to provide a rail pulling system that is easily transported to and from a work site.
A further object is to provide a rail pulling system that retains a pair of rails adjacent to one another while being secured to one another.
Another object is to provide a rail pulling system that is capable of utilizing an external hydraulic unit.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become obvious to the reader and it is intended that these objects and advantages are within the scope of the present invention.
To the accomplishment of the above and related objects, this invention may be embodied in the form illustrated in the accompanying drawings, attention being called to the fact, however, that the drawings are illustrative only, and that changes may be made in the specific construction illustrated and described within the scope of the appended claims.